Robots in Tsukuba

May 18, 2009

Today I visited the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST). I saw some MRI compatible robots, tried out a surgical training setup for endoscopic endonasal surgery, and “danced” with a humanoid robot. We were lucky to visit the lab that was working on the humanoid robots since it seemed like their work was being kept pretty secretive. We got to play with one of their robots, but the rest were hidden in “body bags.”

After the lab tours, I was on my way to Tokyo. Tokyo Station is HUGE. I was amazed at how many people were in the station and how long it took us to walk from one line to the next. We’re staying with Tamas’ cousin, who lives near Disneyland. She and her family live in the cutest neighborhood – the houses are more modern, but the trees and plants give the neighborhood a more traditional Japanese feeling. I loved playing with her daughter, who is only four years old, but speaks Japanese and Hungarian. It’s amazing that she can easily switch between the two languages – she would talk to her mom in either language, her dad in Japanese, Tamas in Hungarian…and she would try to talk to me Japanese.